Hilton Head Island Trip Report July-Aug 2011

[mm6mm6]

We've stayed at Disney's Vero Beach Resort many times after our summer vacations to WDW. We love Vero Beach!

This year we drove to Charleston, SC because I've been wanted to see the CSS Hunley submarine for years. We planned the trip to take a cruise on the Carnival Fantasy out of Charleston (which was great!) and then when the ship got back into port of Friday, we drove the 2 1/2 hours further south to Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort.

Wow!

It's hard to describe just how much we loved DHHIR. Everything about it was fantastic. We really like the laid back, old fashioned resort style (very similar to Vero Beach in the way the buildings are set up) and the fishing lodge theme.

Here's the entrance to the lobby for check in and the hotel part of the resort:

Our DD14 Lauren about to walk into the lobby:

We hung out in the den area and shot some billiards, played some checkers, and found a bunch of hidden Mickeys (they have a sheet of paper with clues in the lobby) while we waited for our room to be ready (we were a bit early). Our room was ready before 3pm check in, which was nice.

We walked down to the pier area:

The tide is 8'-9' (amazing!) and it was low tide. There were tiny little crabs EVERYWHERE that the water was down!

We played horseshoes:

 

[mm6mm6]

When we checked in, I asked the cast member that helped us which 2 bedroom villa she would recommend. She asked if we wanted to be by the pool and we said we would rather not. She then said she could put us in building 13 which is the most secluded with an awesome view of the waterway.

I have to say I think we go the best room at the resort! It was amazing and very secluded (but right by where we parked our truck).

My DW Robin relaxing on the king size bed in the master bedroom:

The jacuzzi tub:

DD14 Lauren on one of her two beds in "her room:"

The convenient bench to put your shoes on across from the laundry area:

Shadow's footprints in the front entry tile:

The view from our 2nd floor balcony:

The main pool at the resort with Lauren going down the slide:

The harbor is right next to the resort and it's a 3 minute walk to two restaurants with very good seafood.

Here's dessert at Scott's:

 

[Granny]

Wow, those are some great photos! Thanks for sharing them. I'd have to agree with many that HH is a hidden gem in the DVC stable of resorts. Add the super nice cast members and it is definitely a place we want to get back to. Glad that you had an awesome trip.

 

[mm6mm6]

The tide came in while we were eating dinner and this is the view from our balcony:

That's our building #13 on the right. Again, talk about secluded! Geez, we loved it!

Lots of hidden Mickeys by the check in counter:

Shadow's doghouse:

Campfire, singalongs, games, and s'mores...just like at Vero Beach:

The next day we took the van ride across the street to the beach house area. It's a 4 minute drive and we used the Disney van each time. There is a phone by each waiting area (at the resort and at the beach) and all you do is pick it up and call the van driver directly. They told us to call every time. It worked perfectly. We never waited more than 10 minutes. It was very convenient to keep sand and wetness out of our truck too.

The pool area is gorgeous with refillable mug stations, a bar, an air conditioned relaxing area with a big screen tv, a game room, lunch counter, and direct access right to the beach.

Lauren rented a half hour for $9 on the three wheeled tricycle and had a blast on the beach!

DD14 Lauren and I decided to try a little crab fishing off the resort pier. They sell $5 crab nets and you just bait them with chicken and drop them off the pier. You wait a little bit and then pull up the net and see if you one...or two...or more!

We got one!

To be "keepers" they have to be at least 5" across and not pregnant females (soft pink bellies).

 

[mm6mm6]

We caught two and put them on ice.

Later I caught two more and we brought them back to the room.

We boiled them:

And we made crab cakes:

They were delicious!

I love the license plates on the resort vehicles:

I spent an hour and a half reading a book on a hammock and smelling the sweet salt water air right next to the water by our room:

We ended our wonderful stay with a tremendous thunder storm that rolled in as we were getting ready to go to bed. We really enjoyed DHHIR. It was just what we were looking for (relaxation) after our cruise. I'd go back there in a heartbeat! Here's a pic of pier just before the storm hit:

 

[bobbiwoz]

I've sent my family links to your first and second post. We're doing our first all family trip next year around the 4th of July.

Thank you for telling us about your trip!
Bobbi

 

[mm6mm6]

We brought a waterproof camera from home and we still had some photos left over to take on it after our cruise. We took the camera on the kayak tour offered through the resort. We paddled out into the oyster beds with our excellent tour guide Jeff. We were very close to dolphins and we had a blast. I highly recommend the kayak tour!

And one last pic of Lauren underwater at the beach house pool!

 

[DVCconvert]

Fantastic TR !!
Great photos!!

hey...what is the GE product in this photo?

 

[nocruisecontrol]

Gorgeous photos! I was so happy to see this thread. We are headed to HH for Labor Day week. This is our first visit there and to that area and we're really looking forward to it. We're so used to the craziness of Disney World that this will be so different - but much needed.

Thanks so much for taking the time to share.

 

[mm6mm6]

DVCconvert, that's big old GE spotlight. Not sure if they ever turn it on, but it looked functional. I thought it was really cool!

nocruisecontrol: You're gonna love it. We ate one night at Scott's and one night at the Kingfisher. Both are right at the entrance to DHHIR. A three minute walk. Both were good. Scott's food was a little better but we had grilled fish there and we had fried fish at the Kingfisher. The SHE Crab soup (basically a crab bisque) was awesome at the Kingfisher but I bet it was just as good at Scott's.

Of course, there is the entire island to explore if you have time. We were only there for three nights so we were totally satisfied playing horseshoes, checkers, billiards, swimming in the pools, enjoying the beach, kayaking, crab fishing, and relaxing in the hammocks.

They offer bike rentals which I'm sure would be fun.

The two lunch service counters (one at the resort and one at the beach) were really good too. Not expensive and very good food. My wife and daughter had chicken fingers and burgers and I had a fantastic broiled fish sandwich. Even the fries were delicious. The refillable mugs are the way to go and I'm happy Disney changed them from the big wide mugs to the newere narrow mugs. You can buy them and keep them and they fit in your car's cup holders now! Yeah!

 

[limace]

Great pics! And you must have the world's smilingest 14 year old girl. My daughter would never admit to being that happy .

 

[Simba's Mom]

Thanks for all the gorgeous pictures. HHI is our favorite resort. And thanks for the pictures of the sitting area as you walk into your villa. I love that little area! For some reason, last time we went we decided to reserve only a studio and one of my whinings was missing that little entry area. But no pictures of Shadow? She's one photographic girl!

Where else did you eat besides Scott's?

 

[CruznLexi]

We leave in less than 2 weeks!

 

[nickspace]

Thanks! I love the picture of the storm by the pier.

 

[Lizzim]

How much are the refillable mugs at HHI?

 

[andijean]

OH MY GOODNESS!!! Your pictures are awesome and have gotten me soooo excited for our trip! We leave in 2 days and this is just perfect! Thank you so much for posting and sharing. The crabs will definitely keep my boys busy. I didn't realize they got that big and that you could keep them to eat. They look soooo tasty! What was your recipe for the crab cakes and dipping sauce? I think I need to add a few items to my grocery list. THANKS!

 

[mm6mm6]

We cheated a bit on the crab cakes. I did have some of the crab meat dipped in melted butter and it was amazing! I wanted to make crab cakes but the list of required ingredients was rather lengthy and would have cost too much money. So we cheated a little tiny bit. We went to the local Piggly Wiggly (5 minutes away by car) and bought their hand made crab cakes. Then we just added our crab to those to make them even more delicious. I just used Helman's Tartar sauce to dip them in (did you notice my rather sad attempt at a Mickey with the tartar sauce on the plate?).

You're gonna love it there!

 

[saintstickets]

Really enjoyed your TR. DW and I will be at HHI 10/25-10/29/11. We've never been and are really looking forward to it. Not sure what there is to do but I'm sure we'll find out!

 

[bblanch]

We were there for July 10-17. I was just getting over my missing HHI Resort terribly. Thanks for ruining that!




Seriously, your pics are amazing. Thanks for sharing.

This was our first trip there. We didn't really know what to expect at all but we were taking a year off from WDW so we gave it a shot fully expecting it to be just a one time trip. We had a great time! One of the best vacations I can recall. We can't wait to go back.

 

[petbren]

Fantastic trip report. We leave in 15 days--driving from Toronto,Ontario area.
Did you have any problems with jellyfish?
Do you happen to have a copy of the daily activity sheets that you could scan in?
I would like to request a top floor, marsh view room, but not sure if I should call resort directly to put in the request, or just make it when there.
We are staying in a 2br also--your room would be perfect.